Best Anime Endings of 2023
The 10 best anime endings of 2023 ranked by YouTube views. More Than Words by Hitsujibungaku, the legendary endings of Jujutsu Kaisen, and Oshi no Ko.
Jujutsu Kaisen(2023)
75 million views for the ending of the second cour of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2. More than words by Hitsujibungaku is a gentle indie rock song that deliberately contrasts with the violence of the Shibuya arc: while battles destroy Tokyo, the ending offers silence, intimacy, and the possibility of finding beauty even in darkness. A bold editorial choice that worked perfectly.
Jujutsu Kaisen(2023)
Jujutsu Kaisen had two endings in the year's top 3, speaking to the care the anime put into its music. Akari by Soushi Sakiyama accompanied the first cour of Season 2 with a folk-pop sensibility that matched the nostalgia of the Gojo flashback arc. 44 million views for a song many fans consider the most emotionally resonant in the entire franchise.
Sousou no Frieren(2023)
milet, one of the most recognized voices in J-Pop today, signed the ending of Sousou no Frieren with Anytime Anywhere. 32 million views for a ballad that captures the essence of the series: time passing, bonds enduring, and the quiet courage of continuing the journey. The elegant production and milet's delivery elevated the ending to the same emotional height as the anime's opening.
Oshi no Ko(2023)
Oshi no Ko's second ending arrived with a radically different proposal from its opening: dark, theatrical, and absolutely strange in the best possible sense. Mephisto by Ziyoou-vachi — the band known for their androgynous aesthetic and uncompromising alternative rock — fit the series' more tortured evolution. 21 million views for the ending that divided opinions the most in 2023.
Spy x Family(2023)
Vaundy, the multidisciplinary artist who had already proven his range in other formats, collaborated with American guitarist Cory Wong for a Spy x Family ending full of funk and sophistication. 19 million views for a song that stepped away from conventional J-Pop to explore territory that sounded like a live jam session. One of the most unexpected collaborations of the year.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto(2023)
AiNA THE END — the vocalist of BiSH known for her dramatic falsetto — signed the Kusuriya no Hitorigoto ending with a song that has the emotional texture of Maomao herself: sensitive, observant, and with more layers than it first reveals. 11 million views for one of the most underrated endings of the year.
Jigokuroku(2023)
Uru has a voice you'd recognize anywhere: clear, intimate, and with an emotionality few singers of her generation can match. Kamihitoe for Jigokuraku combined that voice with production that reflected the philosophical tension of the series: the thickness of a single sheet of paper between life and death, paradise and hell. 10 million views for an ending that deserved more attention.
NieR(2023)
amazarashi, the poetic rock project of Hiromu Akita known for dense lyrics and songs that feel like confessions, delivered Antinomy for the NieR anime adaptation. 8 million views for a song that has everything that makes amazarashi great: verses that hit hard, production that builds tension, and a concept that fits the original material's existentialist universe perfectly.
Bungou Stray Dogs(2023)
Bungou Stray Dogs has one of the most consistent musical histories in anime, and Kiseki continued that tradition with an ending that combines emotion and energy in the franchise's signature style. 7 million views to confirm the series knows how to close an episode.
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari(2023)
Chiai Fujikawa closes the ranking with a ballad that fits Tate no Yuusha perfectly: emotional, resilient, and disarmingly sincere. Suki ni Natte wa Ikenai Riyuu accumulated 5.8 million views as the ending for Season 3, confirming that action isekai can also produce endings that linger long after the episode ends.
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Trends and context: anime endings of 2023
Jujutsu Kaisen dominated the endings ranking with two entries in the top 3 — something unprecedented for a single series in the same year. More Than Words and Akari are songs in completely different registers: the former, quiet indie rock contrasting with the chaos of the Shibuya arc; the latter, nostalgic folk-pop for Gojo's past flashbacks. JJK choosing entirely different artists for each cour speaks to a production that treated music as a narrative tool, not decoration.
Genre diversity was the defining trait of the year. The endings of 2023 explored indie rock (More Than Words), folk-pop (Akari), J-Pop ballad (Anytime Anywhere), dark art-pop (Mephisto), funky collaboration (Todome no Ichigeki), dramatic rock (Aikotoba), intimate pop (Kamihitoe), poetic rock (Antinomy), melodic rock (Kiseki), and emotional ballad (Suki ni Natte wa Ikenai Riyuu). Few years rival 2023 for sheer variety of approaches in the ED format.
Another notable pattern: three series placed in both the openings and endings rankings — Jujutsu Kaisen, Sousou no Frieren, and Oshi no Ko. It's a reflection of how the big series of 2023 cared about every moment of their sonic identity, not just the opening minute.
Frequently asked questions
What was the most-watched anime ending of 2023? More Than Words by Hitsujibungaku for Jujutsu Kaisen, with 75 million views. It leads the ranking once openings and endings are correctly separated by type.
How does 2023 compare to other years for anime endings? 2023 was one of the strongest years in recent history for anime endings in terms of genre diversity and artistic ambition. The simultaneous presence of Oshi no Ko, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, and Frieren brought endings to audiences who had never paid attention to this format before.
Can I listen to all these endings on OpeningPedia? Yes, all the endings in this ranking are available on OpeningPedia with the integrated YouTube player. You can also add the entire ranking to the playback queue with a single click.
Which 2023 anime series appear in both the openings and endings rankings? Three: Sousou no Frieren (Yuusha as OP, Anytime Anywhere as ED), Jujutsu Kaisen (SPECIALZ and Ao no Sumika as OPs, more than words and Akari as EDs), and Oshi no Ko (Idol as OP, Mephisto as ED). Together, these three series account for seven of the twenty positions across both 2023 rankings.
Why did Jujutsu Kaisen choose such different styles for each cour's ending? Each cour of Season 2 had its own emotional arc: the first cour (Gojo's past) leaned into nostalgia and melancholy, which folk-pop captured perfectly; the second (Shibuya Incident) needed contrast after the escalating violence, and gentle indie rock provided that. The result was two endings that feel like counterpoints to each other — and to their respective opening themes.
How does 2023 compare to 2024 for anime endings overall? 2023 was more adventurous in genre and artist selection — amazarashi, Ziyoou-vachi, and Hitsujibungaku are rarely associated with mainstream anime. 2024 was more consistent in view counts but more predictable in styles. If you value artistic risk-taking, 2023 wins. If you value consistent mainstream impact, both years are comparable.